Colonial flags fly again as anger grows in Hong Kong over erosion of freedom

CONTROVERSIAL SYMBOL:Protesters said use of the UK flag did not indicate a desire to restore colonial rule, but is aimed at China’s authoritarian rule of Hong Kong

AFP, HONG KONG

Sixteen years after Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, public discontent with Beijing is swelling and protesters have been rallying around an unexpected symbol — the British colonial flag.

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in recent months in marches against Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (梁振英), who took over from Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) last July after being elected by a 1,200-strong pro-Beijing committee.

On several occasions the old blue flag, which incorporates the Union Jack, has been flown by protesters on the streets of what is becoming an increasingly divided Hong Kong, both embarrassing and infuriating Beijing.

While Leung’s supporters say he is tackling social issues such as affordable housing and the strain on public services, his critics see him as a stooge for Beijing and are angry over a widening poverty gap.

In September last year, he backed down from a plan to introduce Chinese patriotism classes in schools, which had incited mass protests and was viewed as an attempt to brainwash children into accepting doctrines taught in mainland China.

The founder of a group mobilizing Hong Kongers to fly colonial flags said it did so because the city was worse off after 16 years of “encroachment” by Beijing, stressing it was not because of any desire to see Britain rule again.

“Our freedom and everything else has gone downhill since [the handover]” said 26-year-old Danny Chan from the “We’re Hong Kongese, not Chinese” Facebook group, which has been “liked” by nearly 30,000 people.

Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous status enshrines civil liberties not seen in mainland China, including the right to protest, until 2047 under the “one country, two systems” handover agreement.

Chan cited housing prices that stubbornly remained among the world’s highest and the widening income gap between the rich and the poor as factors driving the increasingly frequent protests in the city.

Many Hong Kongers blame increased immigration from mainland China for high house prices and overcrowding in local hospitals.

Chan said that the flags symbolized anger and the perceived erosion of the rule of law in Hong Kong since 1997.

“Hong Kong’s core values and the rule of law have been gradually destroyed until there is almost nothing left,” argued the computer engineer, who waved the flag at a mass rally on Jan. 1 to demand that Leung step down.

Dixon Sing (成名), a political analyst at Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology, said the protesters “believe the Chinese Communist Party has been undermining those core values and reneging on the promise of giving Hong Kong ‘two systems.’”

The increased visibility of the old emblem has sparked tensions at a time when China is ushering in a new batch of leaders who yearn for order and stability in the Asian financial hub.

The British Council, which promotes cultural and educational ties overseas, unwittingly became embroiled in the controversy recently when advertisements for an education fair bearing the Union Jack became the center of attention.

Comments such as “Great Britain built Great Hong Kong!” were posted on the British consulate’s Facebook page and linked to the posters.

The advertisements were hastily removed due to the possibility of “misinterpretation,” a British Council spokeswoman said.

The waving of the old flag has drawn criticism from Chen Zuoer (陳佐洱), the former No. 2 mainland Chinese official in Hong Kong, who reportedly said last year that it “should be sent to history museums.”